In article , Tea
wrote:

The standard English term is pig's stomach- but again, down South
a pig's stomach is hog maws.

The standard english term is intestines, not stomach. Menudo, or
tripe, is stomach.

Really? I'll agree with you- but on a couple of the doul food sites
that had recipes for hog maws and chitlins, hog maws were defined as
pig's stomach. Tripe is any animal's stomach. Sometimes it's called
tripe, menudo, or any other name that is local- but I could be wrong.
I won't argue.

I think it's a bit murky, as it has to do with folk usage and it all
tastes like shit anyway. In any case menudo is a soup in which tripe
is a component. I don't think my homeys call that honey-comb sludge
"menudo", but tripa.

As I made clear, while I know intestines are used as sausage casings,
I have no desire whatsoever to eat chitterlings, regardless of
spelling. My mother used to spoil my eating a perfectly good bran
muffin by talking about the amount of roughage it had in it. My
father, who can eat pretty much anything, one left the table when I
jokingly referred to eggs as baby chickens.

It's funny how local customs change things. Though it might not be
pleasant, you can talk about almost anything at the table with me. I
don't really associate abstractions with the physical reality of my
food. I know if I make "baa" sounds while rack of lamb is on the
table, some folks get really upset.

As you say, technical truth does not tell the whole story, and I
would agree- nevertheless, many of us do eat pig's intestines while
not giving them a second thought. It's the preparation that makes
the dish unappetizing in this case, not the ingredients.

We're in total accord!

I believe the comment was about never wanting to eat pig's intestines
,and that's why I clarified that many of us do it- but we prefer them
taut and thin and filled with meat, not stringy, smelly, and served
in a bowl.

Now, you're speaking about culinary considerations.

Nevertheless, there are people who will not eat pig in any form or
part, no matter how enticingly it is served.

And now, I assume you're now talking about the psychological
considerations. Some people don't want their different foods to touch.
There are many different views of a world.

I would also say that names are a good part of what we will eat, not
just the culinary style- the story given above about a man eating
chitlins and liking them well enough until they were given their true
name is a perfect example.

The movie "My Favorite Year" has a lovely scene in which everybody is
delighted by a delightfully prepared game bird before they find out it
is a parrot. "And man it put up some kind of fight!" the cook adds.
Whereupon everybody looks a bit wan.

And bonito flakes will sometimes taste delicious to someone who does
not know they are eating fish. I think all of us sushi and sashimi
eaters have expereienced things like this with friends- like the time
one of my friends was chowing down on unagi until I told her it was
eel. I don't think it was the preperation that changed the taste,
and I think it's the imagery conjured up by the word 'intestine' that
makes sausage makers describe their products as being in 'natural
casings' as opposed to any number of other terms.

--
///--- Vote for the richest Republican. He understand the common man.